


For Forever

by gcldensgucci



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Boys In Love, Developing Relationship, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak Needs A Hug, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Established Relationship, M/M, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Well - Freeform, oh god these tags are shaping up to be great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:53:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29955045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gcldensgucci/pseuds/gcldensgucci
Summary: Eddie is leaving Derry which, consequently, means leaving Richie.He fucking hates it.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 17





	For Forever

Richie Tozier is an inferno, is the thing.

He's this bright flame, lighting up the entire room, doing whatever he wants. You should probably run from it, you know you should, but the thing is, you can't look away. Your eyes might be burning, constricting pupils as they water because of the bright light, and yet.

Eddie hates it.

He can say that much, and he's only half-lying, because when Richie Tozier throws his head back and laughs that stupid laugh ( _endearing laugh, Eddie thinks. He never says it out loud._ ) the breath gets knocked out of his chest, because even if it's toeing the line between annoying and frustratingly loveable, he still finds himself wanting to kiss his best friend while he giggles. He wants to fucking _swallow_ the noise.

It's getting to be a problem.

It's not that he can't; god knows it's happened before, and he loved every second of it. _He loves Richie_ , he lets himself think for a moment, before shaking his head. Eddie accepted it a while ago; he wishes he hadn't, because it's bound to come to an end.

And yet, he hides a grin in the palm of his hand as he watches Richie shove Mike off of the armchair they're squished together on while babbling on and arguing about whatever comic book they managed to snag most recently.

It's a testament to how much has changed that Bev doesn't tell them to, "Calm down, you're going to make this entire place go down in dust." Eddie doesn't doubt that she would; the thing is, Bev isn't here anymore. It's moments like these, with himself, Richie and Stan cramped in one of their rooms ( _even though there's only three of them left, they're rowdy teenage boys with messes of long limbs; they grew out of the clubhouse a long time ago)_ , that Eddie really wishes he could take a step back in time, for the sake of having a few more moments with his friends before they all moved away, now scattered across the country.

That's the thing; none of those who have left, Beverly or Ben or Stan or Bill, have kept in contact, and Eddie knows he's next. Knows he's next because by tomorrow he'll be gone; gone from Derry, gone from Richie and Mike's lives ( _though the latter bothers him much less; he loves Mike, he does. But he_ loves _Riche, and it's different, damn it_.) and miserable in the cul de sac his mother decided to move into so, so far away from Derry.

( _Eddie has had his fair share of doctor's office visits and needles and procedures; nothing has hurt quite as much as this_.)

He takes a shaky breath; _pang_. A bullet in his chest, that's exactly what it feels like when Richie turns around from his spot wrestling Mike against the chair and their eyes meet and the boy grins so damn wide that sunshine is bursting out of his smile.

Eddie isn't going to put himself through this. 

At the very least, Eddie won't put _Richie_ through this.

"Well," he gets up, dusting his palms off against his pants because, if he doesn't distract his hands with something, he just _knows_ that he's going to march across the room and grab Richie's face and press a kiss onto it, but he can't do that. He _won't_. The last thing he wants is for them to walk away from this even worse off and more miserable than they're already bound to be, anyway. "That's my cue, I think. In case, like, we don't end up seeing each other, I love you guys, yeah?"

Mike is the first off the couch, slipping out from underneath Richie and going to hug Eddie. Even in his friend's arms, all he can focus on is the way Richie's smile falls, right along with that light that was just capturing the entire room.

Eddie looks away.

"You'll keep in touch, yeah?" Mike mumbles into his hair, and Eddie nods.

"I'll keep in touch, yeah." They all know it's a lie. Maybe not an intentional one, but whether by coincidence ( _or probably not_ ), nobody who leaves Derry lets any part of themselves come back, even if it's so much as a page of writing through the post.

After another few minutes of tearful goodbyes with Mike, mixed with a vague awareness that Richie hasn't moved from his frozen state on the couch, Eddie sighs and pats his friend's back one more time before stepping back and pressing an over-exaggerated, wet kiss to his friend's cheek. Mike rolls his eyes. "I'll miss you, goof."

"Right back at you, Mikey," Eddie grins, because that's all he can do, before turning around and, for the last time, leaving the Hanlons' household.

He knows it's coming before it happens, because he'd like to think he knows Richie, but he still has to close his eyes and take a deep breath when he's walking down the street and hears the unmistakable, "Wait!"

He turns around, looking down at the ground and avoiding Richie's eyes as he approaches. "Hey, Rich."

"You're leaving," Richie says, and Eddie wants to laugh. So he does.

"I think we established as much a while ago, yeah?"

Richie frowns. "Not even a kiss goodbye? You wound me, Spaghetti, darling."

It's said in a joking tone, but Eddie knows Richie well at this point ( _probably knows him the best_ ), and even if anyone else wouldn't think anything of it, there's genuine sadness behind his words; frustration, even. It's terrible knowing he's the cause of that, and being painfully aware of it the longer they stand in the empty street. 

"Not today, Richie," he mutters, picking at his nails. Richie huffs.

"Well, today is the last day we can, isn't it? Might as well make the most of—"

"Richie, no," Eddie cuts him off, however much he might struggle to get the words out without his voice cracking. His eyes are readily starting to burn, and tears are welling and _fuck, he didn't want to cry today but apparently it's happening anyways_.

"Eds—"

"Just, no." His voice does crack this time. "Look, this is going to hurt anyways, and I don't know what you think we have, or _had_ , or whatever, but not anymore. Not when I'm literally leaving forever tomorrow, and we'll probably never talk again."

Eddie takes a deep breath. "Look, I don't know what happens after you leave Derry. Unless all our friends fucked off, I'm guessing you forget, and I can't blame them. But, _fuck you_ , because I'm not sure I can ever forget you, and you don't need to make this any harder than it's going to be."

"You talk a lot of shit for someone who claims to care, you know," Richie comments, shaky smile on his face. "I love you, y'know, and here you are breaking my heart and all that. You wound me, Spaghetti."

Now there really is bite behind Richie's words. Eddie laughs, wiping furiously at his cheeks. "Idiot. You can't— don't say that."

"Why not?" Richie shrugs. "Might as well, seeing as you're set on forgetting it the moment you leave."

And that's not the point; that's not the point _at all._ Eddie knows what Richie is fishing for; he's stubborn, and yet, he caves every single time. "I love you too, fuck, but I can't do this! Richie, I am leaving tomorrow, and it's not for a day-long doctor's visit where I come back and you kiss my booboo's, this is the real world! Do I regret it? No, because that would be an asshole thing of me to say, but **_we were kidding ourselves thinking we'd work out._ ** This isn't built to last, and you know it, so please. Just— please."

He's got actual tears streaming down his cheeks now, and he can't even be bothered to care, because Richie— for the first time in his life, Richie looks resigned. It's probably for Eddie's sake, he realizes, and it only makes him want to cry harder.

When Richie steps forward and tilts his chin up, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before leaning back, he doesn't even do anything to stop it. He just stands there, too overwhelmed with emotion and a train of thought that goes _Richie,Richie,Fuck,Richie_ on repeat to do anything.

"Take care of yourself, yeah?" Richie asks, small smile on his face, but he's probably about to cry just as much.

Eddie nods.

"I figure I'll have to, without you around to baby me all the time."

Richie snorts, swiping his thumbs across Eddie's cheeks to wipe away the tears. He presses one last kiss to the boy's nose before stepping back and clearing his throat awkwardly. "Well—"

"Love you, seriously," Eddie smiles. "Romance be damned, Rich, you've always been my best friend. So like— I love you, without making this any harder."

Richie nods, and he's matching Eddie in tears now. He salutes him, and the shorter boy bursts into peals of giggles as Richie begins to stalk away, walking backwards, continuing to wave his hand.

Eddie's heart is still in his throat, and if he tried talking, he would probably puke, having just watched the boy he loves walk away for the last time. At least he said it, though. Confessed his love and whatnot.

Richie Tozier will forever be an inferno.

For the first time ever, Eddie wishes he didn't have a reason to shield his eyes from the flames.


End file.
